Such watches have long been known. In the most elementary fashion, it is sufficient to remove the dial from the watch in order to allow the mechanism forming it to come into view. At this point, however, only parts of the mechanism will appear since certain elements will be hidden from view by the base plate and the bridges which maintain the wheel trains assembled. Then it was proposed to perforate the base plate and bridges to the extent possible in order to render visible the elements hidden thereunder. One thus arrived at the watch referred to as a skeleton watch, allowing one to see most of the elements forming it. This type of watch seeks above all to show the large number of elements which go together to form it and with what complexity such elements are intermingled. This in particular is the case for chronographs or complicated watches.
Up to the present, however, it has never been suggested to propose a skeleton watch provided with a movement controlled by a stepping motor, itself controlled in a well-known manner by a quartz time base. This is the approach of the present invention which enables exhibiting the extreme simplicity of the arrangements of an electronic watch, particularly if one chooses for such watch a well-defined set of characteristics for the most part in themselves well known. One thus obtains a timepiece with a surprising effect, i.e. giving the impression that it includes almost no parts and that it displays time by means of elements remaining mysterious although directly visible to the eyes of the observer. The invention thus proposes a mostly empty skeleton watch with no particular ornamentation, the space circumscribed by its caseband being made up of empty zones the total extent of which is much more substantial than that of the zones occupied by the elements necessary for operation of the watch.